The Impact Of Out Of School Time (Ost) Math And Science Clubs On Elementary And Middle School Students, Teachers, Schools And The Undergraduate And Graduate Fellows That Facilitate Them
- Conference
- Location
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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Publication Date
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June 22, 2008
- Start Date
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June 22, 2008
- End Date
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June 25, 2008
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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K-12 & Pre-College Engineering
- Page Count
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22
- Page Numbers
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13.1235.1 - 13.1235.22
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--4093
- Permanent URL
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https://strategy.asee.org/4093
- Download Count
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449
Paper Authors
Lynn Albers North Carolina State University
Lynn Albers is a third-year NSF-GE Foundation RAMP-UP graduate Fellow. She received her B.S. in Mathematics with a minor in Music from MIT in 1992 and her M.S. in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Nuclear Engineering from Manhattan College in 1996. After working for Nortel Networks and the NC Solar Center, Lynn matriculated at North Carolina State University where she is a Ph.D. candidate in Mechanical Engineering, focusing on renewable energy.
Althea Smith North Carolina State University
Althea Smith is a second-year NSF-GE Foundation RAMP-UP graduate Fellow. She received her B.S. in Mathematics from Stony Brook Univeristy in 2004. She entered the Biomathematics program at North Carolina State University and received her M.S. in the summer of 2007. Currently she is a Ph.D. candidate in Biomathematics.
Kate Caldwell North Carolina State University
Kate Caldwell received her M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University in the spring of 2007. She was an NSF-GE Foundation RAMP-UP graduate Fellow during the 2005-2007 academic years.
Jessica McCoy North Carolina State University
Jessica McCoy received her M.S. in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina State University in the summer of 2007. She was an NSF-GE Foundation RAMP-UP graduate fellow during the 2006-2007 academic year.
Laura Bottomley North Carolina State University
Elizabeth Parry North Carolina State University
Elizabeth Parry received her B.S. in Engineering Management-Mechanical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1983. After working for IBM for 10 years, Mrs. Parry left to raise her children and start a science education business. Since 1999, she has directed two major grant programs for the College of Engineering at North Carolina State University. Currently, she is the engineering project director for RAMP-UP (Recognizing Accelerated Math Potential in Underrepresented People), a five-year program focusing on outreach to strengthen K-12 math, science and engineering knowledge and funded by NSF and the GE Foundation.
Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract
The Impact of Out-of-School Time (OST) Math and Science Clubs on Elementary and Middle School Students, Teachers, Schools and the Undergraduate and Graduate Fellows that Facilitate Them Abstract
Out-of-school time (OST) clubs can positively affect students in grades 3-8 by reinforcing concepts learned during the normal class hours, learning new concepts, and providing an outlet where the children are free to interact more casually with the instructors and their peers. RAMP-UP (Recognizing Accelerated Math Potential in Underrepresented People), a National Science Foundation funded GK-12 outreach program at North Carolina State University (NCSU), has established OST Math Clubs and Energy Clubs at three, local, inner-city elementary schools and Fun Applications in Math and Engineering (FAME) at two middle schools. These clubs are run by undergraduate and graduate RAMP-UP Fellows from North Carolina State University and Shaw University. Having the RAMP-UP Fellows lead the clubs allows the teachers the opportunity to relax, to interact with the children less formally and to learn something new. The hands-on nature of the activities in the clubs lends itself well to encourage, develop and expose the math and science ability (in students) that may not be demonstrated during the regular classroom time. This additional opportunity for students and teachers to interact provides the teacher with a wider view of a student’s ability (especially a student from an underrepresented group).
Undergraduate and graduate Fellows have also benefited by leading and facilitating the clubs. The paper, “The Impact of K-12 Outreach Programs on Graduate and Undergraduate Experiences,” by Kate Caldwell, Jessica McCoy, Lynn Albers, Althea Smith, Elizabeth Parry and Laura Bottomley from the 2007 ASEE Conference showed that through their work with RAMP-UP, undergraduate Fellows have improved their public speaking skills, felt more prepared for their careers, and felt that they were making a difference simply by being positive role models. In addition, by working with OST clubs, the undergraduate Fellows work directly with the graduate Fellow who exposes them to new areas of research, helps strengthen their math and science skills and provides an opportunity to discuss their post-undergraduate plans. Among the NCSU Fellows a much higher percentage of undergraduate Fellows plan to attend graduate or professional school, as compared to similar statistics for the entire university undergraduate population. The graduate Fellow benefits in much the same way and additionally develops managerial and administrative skills.
Out-of-school time science and math clubs in elementary and middle schools not only benefit the children, teachers, undergraduate and graduate Fellows but they also benefit the elementary school, the universities and the communities they support. We will show the impact on 3-8 students and teachers through observation and surveys. We will also survey the undergraduate Fellows and teachers working with the clubs.
Albers, L., & Smith, A., & Caldwell, K., & McCoy, J., & Bottomley, L., & Parry, E. (2008, June), The Impact Of Out Of School Time (Ost) Math And Science Clubs On Elementary And Middle School Students, Teachers, Schools And The Undergraduate And Graduate Fellows That Facilitate Them Paper presented at 2008 Annual Conference & Exposition, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 10.18260/1-2--4093
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